Playing-card pack.



No. 886,130.' PATENTBD ABR. 2a, i908.

- H. DE JOANNIS.

PLAYING GARD PACK.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, 1907.

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HARRY DE JOANNIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PLAYING-CARD PACK.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented April 28, 1908.

Application filed August l2, 1907. Serial No. 388,095.

To all whom 'it may concern:

. Be it known that I, HARRY DE JoANNis, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Card Packs, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in playing cards, and has for itsgeneral object to provide a playing card pack comprising cards novel inindicated playing characteristics and presentation, for use in the playof new and interesting games.

An especial object of my invention is to provide a playing card packwherein certain of the cards bear upon their faces indications ofqualities enhancing their values for strategie play, or of qualitiespenalizing unskilful use, to make possible of play games wherein thestrategy of play is not dependent entirely upon the mere numericalvalues of the cards, but wherein wide latitude is allowed for skilfulplay, so that an irremediably bad hand may e of rare occurrence, andsuccess inay depend more upon the manipulation of the cards and lessupon the numerical values of the cards than in vordinary card games.

Another object of my invention is to provide cards constructed tofacilitate the use of a counting system which I have found to tendtoward equalization of the chances in play. And a yet further object ofmy invention is to provide a game in which the cards may be madesuperficially attractive as a natural development of the general plan ofthe card relations. A

In general I provide in my playing'card pack a plurality of suits, eachpreferably consisting of the same number of cards, whereof each cardbears a suitable suit indication. Preferably each suit, as to therespective values and playing characteristics of the several cards issimilar to every other suit, the cards of each suit preferably bearingindications of sequential playing or trick-taking value, from Zero toany desired number, and each card bearing in addition an independentnumerical indication of its scoring value, the range of scoringvaluesbeing preferably much less than the range or series .of playingvalues. -Furthermore I prefer that one of the cards of each suit,preferably the card devoid of playing value, or numbered zero, shall belikewise devoid of scoring value and shall bear thereon a suitableexpression indicative of the fact that it calls for trumps. Likewise inthe sequence I preferably employ a card of relatively low value, say thefive, embodying an expression indicative of the fact that this card winsat critical points or moments in the play. Also I preferably provide acard which I deem it advantageous to have of higher value, say the nine,bearing on its face an expression indicative of the desirability ofgetting rid of such card, to suggest to the player that the card is apenalty card, on the getting rid of which success may depend. Further Iprefer that the suits shall be so designated and the cards sopictorially illustrated or descriptively labeled that they indicatenatural sequences of conditions or events characteristic of the phase oflife to which the suit title relates.

It will be obvious that more or less of the I features of my inventionmay be embodied in a card game to advantage, but for purpose ofillustration I have herein shown and described a card pack wherein allthe features of my invention are developed.

In the drawing: Figure 1 shows in spread relation the cards constitutinga suit 5 Figs. 2, 3 and 4 indicate each a card of a separate suit.

In the particular game which I have herein indicated, 'I provide foursuits, each of thirteen cards, the several suits being respectively,Courtshi'p, Marriage, lSociety7 and Business, and the titles beingrespectively symbolized by squeezer-marks in the form of a heart, awedding ring, a crown, and a dollar mark, and I prefer that each card ofthe suit shall bear prominently displayed the suit characteristicsymbol, or the impressed name of the suit, or both, as hereinillustrated.

The several cards of each suit are succesv sively numbered from Zero toany desired number, as l2, such numbers appearing in the corners of thecards in association with the suit indications, and constituting theplaying or trick-taking value indications. Obviously the symbol 0(zero), or no symbol at all, may be employed to indicate playing valueupon the card of each suit which is devoid of playing value. Also uponeach card I supply a supplemental counting value indication, preferablydisplayed about the middle of the vertical area of the card, andpreferably in association with the Words Scoring value.

As indicated in the suit displayed in Fig. 1, I prefer that the range ofscoring values shall be much less than the range of trick-taking orplaying values, so that a plurality of cards are impressed with some ofthe scoring values, and I prefer that the relative order of the scoringvalues shall increase from the cards of the lowest trick-taking value tothe card of the highest trick-taking value.

I prefer that the cards devoid of trickltaking value or the zero cardsshall also be devoid of scoring value, and this characteristic may beindicated by the omission of any scoring value symbol, or the use of thesymbol O (zero).

Upon the Zero card of the suit, or that devoid of playing and scoringvalues, Iprovide an expression indicative of the fact that such cardwhen played calls for trumps, the expression being preferably in theform of the word Trumpit, or some equivalent expression. Each of theother cards of the suit I prefer shall have a pictorial face, differentfrom that `of every other card, the pictures expressing successivestages, or conditions, or actions, of natural occurrence in progressiveorder in the phase of existence suggested by the suit designation. Thusin the Courtship suit, I prefer that the representations upon the cardsshall depict successive scenes commonly understood as incident tocourtship from rst acquaintance to engagement. And it is my preferencethat with the pictorial illustrations shall be associated suitabledescriptive titles of the pictures. In this way artistic merit of anydesired degree may be exhibited in the display of the playing cardsinnaturalrelation to the numerical characteristics of the cards.

In each suit, one of the cards, which I prefer shall be a card ofrelatively low tricktaking value, here illustrated as the live, shall beprovided with an expression indicative of the fact that at certaincritical points or moments such card is of highest or winning value.

Pursuant to my idea of making the cards interesting in themselves, Ipreferably make these number five cards, which may have a highlyimportant function in the game, bear each a picture of The woman in thecase, such picture in each instance representing a woman of a type whomight interfere materially in the phase of life represented by the suit,and such picture having associated therewith, in addition to a suitabletitle of the picture itself, the words, She wins in the criticalmoments, indicative of the fact that crises or critical. moments occurin the progress of the game, at which times such card has a temporarilyenhanced or winning value. In such suit I- preferably provide one of theother cards of higher value than the Woman in the case card, with anexpression indica- 'tive of the desirability of the player riddinghimself of the card, and for further suggestion, I prefer that theictorial represent-ations on these cards shall illustrate bad habits,each of a character harmful in the phase of lifey indicated by the titleof the suit. Thus the number nine (9) card of the courtship suit isshown as bearing a picture representative of The cocktail habit, thepicture having its appropriate title and bearing prominently the wordsGet rid of it. The Habit cards of lthe other suits may appropriatelydisplay bad habits associated with the phase of life indicated by thesuit titles, and each card bears the expression of command Get rid ofit.

The card pack is used in playing one game vas follows: rlhe cards aredealt to four players,

thirteen apiece, and the trump is determined by turning up the lastcard, or in other suitable fashion. For purposes of the play criticalmoments or tricks are ordered by rule, such critical moments or tricksbeing for example, the third and useventh tricks. The play is commencedin the usual way, the players following each other in rotation, andfollowing suit if possible. On the prearranged critical tricks-the thirdand seventh-the number five card, or Woman in the case card, of the suitled, has a temporarily increased value so that it wins over all othercards of its suit, as indicated on the face of the cards by theexpression She wins in the critical moments. For variety in play I alsoprovide by rule that the taking of a crisis or Critical moment trick bythe Woman in the case, or No. 5, card, entitles the taker of the trickto nominate a new trump, which shall maintain throughout the balance ofthe play of the hand or until the next crisis. The habit card carries apenalty of the loss of a suitable number of scoring points to the partyplaying it, but scores a more than compensating number of points infavor of such party if he succeeds in getting rid of the Bad habit byplaying such card upon a trick taken by his opponent, so that theobjective in the play of such card is to get rid of it, as indicated bythe suitable expression upon the face of the card. The trumpit cards,being zeros in playing values, manifestly take tricks only where led intricks where no other cards of the same suit or of trumps remain to beplayed. As indicated by the expression of command einbodied in theword-phase Trumpit, such card, of whatever suit, calls for the play oftrumps by all succeeding players upon the trick, so that such card actsas a trumpforcing card even where not of the trump suit itself. Theindependent scoring values of the cards enable the rules to provide forvarious simple and effective systems of scoring, that which I preferablyemploy involving the addition of the scoring values of all cards takenon the last six tricks of the hand to calculate the score of each playeror team. Obviously the rules of play may be changed in many particulars,and may be elaborated as desired, and in the relative arrangement anddisplay of the cards various changes may be made without departure fromthe spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a laying card pack, a series of cards sequential y numbered forrank in lay, one of said cards numerically below tie maximum playingvalue, bearing an expression indicative of enhanced value at criticalmoments.

2. In a laying card ack, a series of cards sequentially designate forrank in play, one of said cards numerically below the maximum playingvalue bearing an expression indicative of winning rank at criticalmoments.

3. In a playing card pack, a plurality of suits of cards, the severalcards of each suit bearing like suit indications, and bearing alsoindications of trick-taking value, there being in said pack a carddevoid of trick-taking value bearing an expression calling for the playof trumps thereon.

4. ln a playing card pack, a plurality of suits of cards, theseveral'cards of each suit having different indicated trick-takingvalues and similar suit indications, and each suit comprising a cardbearing an expression of command calling for the play of trumps thereon.

5. A playing card pack comprising cards divided into equal suits, thecards of each suit bearing a suit indication, indications of sequentialtrick-taking value, and independent scoring value indications, a card ofeach suit bearing an expression of command calling for the play oftrumps thereon, another card of each suit bearing an expressionindicative of increased value at critical moments, and another card ofeach suit bearing an exression of command indicative of advantage inetting rid of such card.

n testimony whereof l hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

HARRY DE JOANNIS. In the presence of FORE BAIN, MARY F. ALLEN.

